Tiruvallur-Bengaluru R-LNG pipe: Green nod for forest diversion

National Board for Wildlife approves forest land diversion for laying 297 km long underground pipeline passing through TN, AP, K’taka
Image used for representational purpose only
Image used for representational purpose only

CHENNAI: The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has approved diversion of forest land, for laying a 297 km long underground R-LNG (Regassified-Liquid National Gas) pipeline from Tiruvallur to Bengaluru, passing through Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. This section of pipeline will evacuate R-LNG from the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) LNG import terminal at Ennore and deliver natural gas to consumers located across Tiruvallur, Bengaluru, Pondicherry, Nagapattinam, Madurai and Thoothukudi. 

The pipeline will have to pass through Palamner forest in Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, which is essentially an elephant reserve, in Andhra Pradesh, for 6 km length, requiring 4.641 hectares. NBWL has approved diversion of 4.641 hectares of the protected area. Authorities said the reconnaissance survey was carried out for three alternate routes and it was observed that the possibility of avoiding the forest is nearly nil. Hence, the best route was selected, which will pass through least forest land,” officials of Southern Region Pipelines, IOCL, said. 

Further, officials said IOCL already has its 290 km long Chennai - Bengaluru product pipeline which is in operation since March 2010. This pipeline also passes through Palamner forest for about 6.4km length i.e. 4.6 hectares of forest land. The approval under Forest Conservation Act, 1980, has already been obtained for this pipeline, from the Union Environment Ministry. 

Hence, it is proposed to route the upcoming Tiruvallur to Bengaluru pipeline through the already acquired Right of Way (RoW) of 7 metres inside the Palamner forest, for which both, forest clearance and environmental clearance, has been obtained.

The `5,150 crore-LNG terminal, which is a first-its-kind facility on the East Coast in South India, at the Kamarajar Port, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March this year. It promised to usher a green wave in south-east India as natural gas will effectively replace naphtha, and fertiliser industries can directly use natural gas as feed stock for production of urea.

Koundinya 
Wildlife Sanctuary
The pipeline will have to pass through Palamner forest in Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, which is essentially an elephant reserve, in Andhra Pradesh, for about 6 km length, requiring 4.641 hectares. NBWL has approved the diversion of 4.641 hectares of the protected area. 

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com